The UK needs to prepare better for major risks to business economy and society. The UK and the world is now dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However it is clear from Dominic Cummings evidence before today’s joint parliamentary committee that the UK was not prepared for any pandemic despite pandemic risks being an acknowledged major threat to UK people businesses and society as a whole. What is your business doing to prepare for key significant threats to the survival of your business? How will you respond for known and unknown business risks? Who will manage your business sustainability through all business rough seas. Where will your existential threats come from? When will your business survival be challenged?
Some revelations from Dominic Cummings related to preparation of threats to continuity of life and business in UK include:
- People are ill prepared and potentially incompetent when responding to major risk events – senior people within the UK Civil Service and within political leadership are often promoted beyond their capability to react appropriately to mitigate impact of risk events.
- Written business or service continuity plans are poorly drafted and useless upon the occurrence of major risk events – the UK Civil Service and UK politicians across the political spectrum whilst in government failed to write suitable usable and effective plans to mitigate the impact of major risk events on UK businesses economy and society as a whole.
- Some people on your team will react poorly to the demands placed upon them from major risk events – just as in normal operating circumstances, during a disaster event and the recovery therefrom, people will perform poorly without the guidance support and direction from well written business continuity plan.
- Competing demands unrelated the major risk event will impede business recovery – the rest of the world will not stop spinning just because your business has been majorly interrupted due to a risk event. Your business continuity plan needs to accommodate continuation of normal business risks as well as recovery from major risk events.
- Delaying business decision making during a recovery of major risk event can increase the damage experienced by the business – procrastination due to fear you make wrong decisions can in itself cause further business damage.
- Group Think can cause increased damage following major risk event – just because everyone is pulling together to recover from major risk event does not mean you are doing the best thing for your business. Decisions made using bad thinking can exasperate the damage to a business trying to recover from major incident.
- Leaders can only make good decisions based on good risk analysis and data – just because you are receiving data on the impact of risk event does not mean the best solutions will be chosen during the mania of major risk event.
It is clear that any government would have struggled to manage the risks from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tory government struggled in England and made mistakes as did the SNP led government in Scotland and the Labour led government in Wales as well as the DUP led government in Northern Ireland. However, relying on the wit and off-the-cuff reactions of leaders in the event of major incidents leads to worse outcomes and longer interruption.
Dominic Cummings may have his own motives for his written and verbal words on the Covid19 pandemic. However, what is 100 percent certain is the inability of leaders to make good decisions without a proper practiced and revised business continuity plan.
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